Police Investigating Possibility Of Second Person In Las Vegas Shooter's Hotel Room — Here's What We Know
58 DEAD, 530 INJURED
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This post has been updated throughout. Scroll down for most recent updates.

Last week, a lone gunman named Stephen Paddock murdered at least 58 people on the Las Vegas strip in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Here's what we know about the shooting.

At Least 58 People Are Dead, Making This The Deadliest Mass Shooting In Modern US History

On Wednesday afternoon, Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced that 58 people died and at least 530 were treated for wounds or injuries sustained during the shooting.

Authorities said Paddock opened fire on a music festival crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 people and injuring 530 others. The shooting lasted nine to 11 minutes, with the first reports of gunshots beginning Sunday at 10:05 p.m. PT and the final shots being fired at 10:15 p.m.

[ABC News]

The death toll outstripped that of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando, Florida in June 2016. 

Previously, the deadliest mass shooting had been an attack at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub that killed 49. Before that, the deadliest shooting in the U.S. was the 2007 attack at Virginia Tech, in which a student killed 32 people before killing himself.

[ABC News]

The Shooting Took Place At A Three-Day Country Music Festival

Tens of thousands of people had gathered for an outdoor country music festival on the Las Vegas strip called the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

The Route 91 Harvest Festival bills itself as "three days of country music on the Vegas Strip," and Sunday night's performance was the last of the festival. The site of the concert, the Las Vegas Village and Festival Grounds, run by MGM Resorts, sprawls over 15 acres and has a capacity of 40,000 people. The festival's website said this year's three-day concert was sold out.

[The New York Times]

The Gunman, Stephen Paddock, Fired On Crowds From The Mandalay Hotel

A lone gunman shot at crowds from a room in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino overlooking the festival venue.

From his room on the 32nd floor of a glitzy hotel, the shooter, identified by law enforcement officials as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, fired shot after shot down on the crowd of more than 22,000, sending terrified concertgoers running for their lives.

[NBC News]

The Gunman Died From A Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

Police announced Monday morning that Paddock apparently shot himself as SWAT units entered his hotel room.

As officers entered the suspect's room, 64-year-old Mesquite resident Stephen Paddock died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, police confirmed early Monday.

[Las Vegas Review-Journal]

Paddock Had Amassed An Enormous Arsenal Of Rifles And Other Weapons

Police found a huge collection of rifles in Paddock's hotel room, along with other weapons in his home and car.

In the gunman's 32nd-floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, police recovered 23 weapons, including a handgun and multiple rifles — some with scopes on them.

Authorities also found several pounds of ammonium nitrate, a material used to make explosives, in his car.

And at Paddock's home in Mesquite, Nevada, police found at least 19 firearms, explosives, several thousand rounds of ammunition and some electronic devices.

[CNN]

Boston 25 News obtained photos of two of the guns found in Paddocks hotel room, along with the hammer he used to smash the hotel window.

 

Shooter Had Device That Converted Semi-Automatic Guns To Fully Automatic Ones

The Associated Press reports Paddock was in possession of two "bump-stocks" that convert semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic ones.

The device basically replaces the gun's shoulder rest, with a "support step" that covers the trigger opening. By holding the pistol grip with one hand and pushing forward on the barrel with the other, the shooter's finger comes in contact with the trigger. The recoil causes the gun to buck back and forth, "bumping" the trigger.

[The Associated Press]

The Gunman Had A Habit Of Participating In High-Stakes Gambling

The police initially said they were looking for a woman whom Paddock lived with in Mesquite, Nevada, according to public records. They later said they had located and detained her. 

Paddock's brother, Eric, told reporters that his brother was a retired accountant with plenty of money and a high-stakes gambling habit.

Paddock, 64, would disappear for days at a time, frequenting casinos with his longtime girlfriend, neighbors said. Relatives also said Paddock had been living out his retirement years, visiting Las Vegas to gamble and take in concerts.

His brother Eric Paddock said his brother often gambled in amounts of tens of thousands. "My brother is not like you and me. He plays high stakes video poker," he said. "He sends me a text that says he won $250,000 at the casino."

[The Washington Post]

 

Stephen Paddock Wired $100,000 To The Philippines Last Week

NBC reports that Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock wired $100,000 to an account the Philippines a week before he committed America's largest mass shooting in recent history. The Philippines is the home country of his girlfriend Marilou Danley, who was out of the country at the time of the shooting.

But while officials have confirmed that Marilou Danley was in the Philippines on Sunday when Paddock opened fire on a crowd attending a country music festival on the Vegas Strip, it was not known whether the money was for her, her family, or another purpose.

Danley, 62, who had traveled to Hong Kong on Sept. 25, could fill in some of the blanks when she returns to the U.S. on Wednesday, the officials said. Her arrival airport was not known.

[NBC]

Paddock Reportedly Sent His Girlfriend Away Before The Shooting

Danley returned to the US Tuesday evening, arriving at LAX and being led out a side entrance. Danley was then questioned by the FBI. Danley's sisters told Seven News in Australia that Paddock sent her away before the shooting, "she don't know anything as well, like us. She was sent away. She was sent away so that she will be not there to interfere with what he's planning."

Starbuck's Employee Remembers Paddock Publicly Scolding Girlfriend

The LA Times reports that a Starbucks employee who worked at a coffee shop inside Stephen Paddock's local casino recalls Paddock repeatedly displaying cruel behavior towards his girlfriend. Esperanza Mendoza, supervisor of the Starbucks, said he would frequently rebuke his partner for asking to use his casino rewards card:

It happened a lot… He would glare down at her and say—with a mean attitude — 'You don't need my casino card for this. I'm paying for your drink, just like I'm paying for you.' Then she would softly say, 'OK' and step back behind him. He was so rude to her in front of us.

[The LA Times]

Police Release Bodycam Footage Of Attack

On Tuesday night, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department released footage taken from an officer's body camera, as he and other officers attempt to locate Paddock's location in the Mandalay Bay hotel.

 

Paddock Used Hidden Cameras To Monitor The Situation Outside Of His Room

The Washington Post reports that Paddock used hidden cameras to monitor the activity outside of his room.

Paddock hid one camera in the peephole of his suite and two more in the hall, at least one of them disguised on a service cart, authorities said. 

[The Washington Post]

The Sheriff Speculated That Paddock May Have Had Help And Planned To Escape

Wednesday evening, Las Vegas police held a press conference in which the chief speculated that Paddock may have had assistance: 

You look at how many weapons he obtained, the different amounts of Tannerite available, do you think this was all accomplished on his own, face value?… You've got to make the assumption he had to have help at some point.

[BuzzFeed]

No details were given to support the assertion that Paddock planned an escape.

Additionally, the police revealed that Paddock had booked a room last week at the Ogden Hotel through Airbnb during the Life Is Beautiful music festival, suggesting that last weekend wasn't his first attempt.

The Chicago Tribune reports that police have recovered video that Paddock appears to have taken overlooking the festival, suggesting he may have been conducting "pre-surveillance."

Police also published a timeline that says the shooter was shooting for 10 minutes before police arrived.

 

Paddock Targeted Jet Fuel Tanks

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Paddock targeted a pair of jet fuel tanks near the concert venue:

Las Vegas Strip mass murderer Stephen Paddock used his Mandalay Bay hotel room to fire bullets at jet fuel tanks Sunday night… The bullets left two holes in one of two circular white tanks. One of the bullets penetrated the tank, but did not cause a fire or explosion… The tanks are roughly 1,100 feet from the concert site[.]

[Las Vegas Review-Journal]

Paddock Booked Rooms Overlooking Lollapalooza Festival In Chicago

Early Thursday, TMZ reported that Paddock had booked two rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago, but that he never showed up in August.

The hotel directly overlooked the main stage as well as several adjoining stages. It also overlooks the main entrance and exit where thousands of people file through. And the hotel had a bird's-eye view of the crowd. We're told Paddock specifically requested both rooms be a "view room" which only face Grant Park, where the concert was being held.

[TMZ]

Police told The Chicago Tribune that they were aware of the report and looking into it.

USA Today confirmed TMZ's report with a police source.

Paddock Was Prescribed Valium, Which Can Cause Emotional Side-Effects

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Stephen Paddock was prescribed Valium in June by Dr. Steven Winkler, a doctor who Paddock claimed to keep on retainer according to court documents obtained by CNN. Valium is used to treat anxiety but can cause aggressive behavior and rage as a side-effect.

Police In Room Describe Detailed Shooting Calculations And Set-up For Showdown 

In a '60-Minutes' segment, police officers who stormed Paddock's room last Sunday described intense pre-planning that had gone into Paddock's attack. The officers said days of planning had to have gone into the attack, describing his complex surveillance system and detailed notes on altitude, distance and bullet drop. Officers also said that his set-up looked like it was made to attack responding police officers, with a gun set up facing the door — a report that contradicts intitial statements that Paddock may have been planning an escape.

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